Jeremiah Lessons from Jeremiah

Lesson #13 for December 26, 2015

Scriptures: [Jeremiah 2:13; 6:20; 7:1-10; 10:1-15; 23:1-8; Matthew 9:12; Deuteronomy 6:5][i].

1.    In this lesson we will try to summarize what we have learned from the book of Jeremiah. There are large sections of the book such as the prophecies against the nations (Jeremiah 46-51) that we have not touched at all. The Septuagint leaves out one-eighth of the book. We will depart somewhat from the Adult Sabbath School Bible Study Guide to include some very important questions that we believe should be addressed as we consider our conclusions to the book of Jeremiah.

2.    Does Jeremiah contribute significantly to our understanding of God? If not to our understanding, how about the understanding of the citizens of the universe looking on? In what ways is Jeremiah outstanding compared to other books in the Bible? Are there some things uniquely emphasized in Jeremiah? What about the new covenant described in Jeremiah 31:31-34ii? What were the circumstances under which Jeremiah wrote? What was Jeremiah’s position in society?

3.    Jeremiah, known in Hebrew as Yirmeyahu or Yirmeyah and in Greek as leremias, has a name that probably means “Yahweh establishes” or “Yahweh casts.” Most of his writing was actually done by his “secretary,” Baruch (See Jeremiah 36:4,27-28,32iii.) who has an apocryphal book named after him. Jeremiah 52, like Deuteronomy 34, is a historical summary of events-some of which took place after Jeremiah’s death. Jeremiah came from the priestly family of Eli and Abiathar who was deposed from the high priesthood by David and Solomon. (See 1 Kings 1:7; 2:26-27.) Thus, he grew up in Anathoth, about 2M> miles (4 km) northeast of Jerusalem. His ministry began in 628/627 B.C. and continued until at least 586 B.C. when Jerusalem fell the final time to Nebuchadnezzar.

If the book of Jeremiah were organized chronologically and compared with the reigns of the kings of Judah, it would look something like this:

Manasseh (696/695-642 B.C.): Jeremiah born about 645 B.C.

Amon (642-640 B.C.): Jeremiah still a child.

Josiah (640-609 B.C.): Jeremiah 1-6; 14-16.

Jehoahaz (609 B.C.): Reigned only three months.

Jehoiakim (609-598 B.C.): Jeremiah 17; 7-11; 26; 35; 22:1-19; 25; 18-20; 36:1-4; 45; 36:5-32; 12.

Jehoiachin (598-597 B.C.): Jeremiah 22:20-30; 13; 23.

Zedekiah (597-586 B.C.): Jeremiah 24; 29-31; 46-51; 27; 28; 21; 34; 32; 33; 37-39.

After the fall of Jerusalem: Jeremiah 40-44; 52.

Jeremiah’s Death: Sometime around 580 B.C. (Adapted from SDA Bible Dictionary)

Jeremiah and Baruch had to rewrite the entire book at one point. See Jeremiah 36:23-28iv.

4.    During the ministry of Jeremiah, major world events took place as well. Babylon rose to world dominance by conquering Assyria at Nineveh in 612 B.C. and, later, defeating Egypt at Carchemish in 605 B.C. Jerusalem was conquered twice and then, finally, was besieged for 30 months and completely destroyed in July of 586 B.C.

5.    Jeremiah’s circumstances were radically different from ours; but, some of the same issues were there as in our day. Can you name some of them?

Such as faithfulness to God and obedience to His commandments. Such as true religion, a religion of the heart, as opposed to empty and dead rituals that can leave people in a false state of complacency. Such as the people’s willingness to listen to correction, even when it cuts across what they want to hear. Such as true revival and reformation. Such as trusting in the Lord and His promises instead of the arm of flesh. (Adult Sabbath School Bible Study Guide for Sabbath, December 19.)

6.    When did the children of Israel behave as well as suggested in Jeremiah 2:1-3[v]? (Compare [Jeremiah 31:18-20; Ezekiel 20:4-26; Hosea 11:1]vi.) Or, was God just being very gracious and generous as recorded in that text? Didn’t that whole generation who passed through the wilderness have to die because of their rebellion? They were apparently faithful to God during the time they were working on the building of the tent/tabernacle at the foot of Mount Sinai.

7.    Jeremiah spent a great deal of time discussing the worship of different “gods” and how the people had left the true God to go after other so-called gods. (Jeremiah 2:11; 3:13; 7:1619)vii Can you think of any other nation that changed its god(s)? Was Israel irreligious during that period? When God complained that they had changed gods, were they aware that they had done that? Or, was it that in their minds, they had changed their picture of God, even adding other gods? Were they just trying to get along with their neighbors? Or, just wanting to be politically correct? Although at least some of them paid tithe, worshiped on the Sabbath, and observed all the ceremonial requirements, did they really know God? What could possibly have been so attractive in those heathen religions? Why did-and does-God have such a hard time holding His people and getting them to worship Him? Doesn’t He have the power? Through the use of power and force, can God produce what He wants most? How could God have lost one-third of the angels? (Revelation 12:4viii)

8.    Some Seventh-day Adventists have been taught that the central issue in the great controversy is the character and government of God. What do we learn from the book of Jeremiah about that core issue? Does God seem to be arbitrary? Exacting? Vengeful? Unforgiving? And severe, even despotic, as He is described in the book of Jeremiah?

9.    If God could accomplish what He wants most by the use of force or power, the great controversy would have been over as soon as it began! God could have destroyed Lucifer, or simply taken away his freedom! God has never lacked power. (James 2:19ix) But, He chooses to limit His power in order to allow us freedom. “Go where one might, no nation could be found as wicked as Israel who had forsaken the living and true God in exchange for gross idolatry.” (King James Version Study Bible) “The only nation whose god was truly God, was at the same time the only nation that exchanged its God for others.” (Nelson Study Bible) It is important to note that Judah was not irreligious during this time. They believed that they were worshiping their other gods as they went about their immorality. But, they also professed to worship Yahweh at the same time. Do you think you could move back and forth between fertility cult worship and the worship of Yahweh?

10.    What does it do to one’s mind to worship a “glued-together god”? (1 Samuel 5:1-5[x]) Or, a “piece-of-firewood god”? (Isaiah 44:9-20; Jeremiah 2:27; 3:9; 10:2-16)xi What do you think the children of Israel were thinking when they worshiped the Baals and then rushed to the temple? (Jeremiah 7:1-11xii) Did they think two gods were better than one-like having extra insurance? They wanted a god they could move around and manipulate! (1 Samuel 4xiii) Did they not recognize the incompatibility of those other religions with their true religion? What difference did they see in their two gods? What does it mean to worship a god? Can you truly worship two different gods at the same time? Do we? (Matthew 6:24; Luke 16:13)xiv

11.    There is no way to compare the God we worship with any of those false gods. He finally actually came down to this earth and demonstrated what kind of God is real-what He is really like!

Never will it be forgotten that He whose power created and upheld the unnumbered worlds through the vast realms of space, the Beloved of God, the Majesty of heaven, He whom cherub and shining seraph delighted to adore-humbled Himself to uplift fallen man; that He bore the guilt and shame of sin, and the hiding of His Father’s face, till the woes of a lost world broke His heart, and crushed out His life on Calvary’s cross. That the Maker of all worlds, the Arbiter of all destinies, should lay aside His glory and humiliate Himself from love to man will ever excite the wonder and adoration of the universe.—Ellen G. White, The Great Controversy, p. 651.2.

12.    Is God angry when we worship other gods? Or, do we just lose by becoming like them? (Jeremiah 2:5,19; 7:19; Isaiah 44:9-20; Hosea 9:10; Romans 1:18-31)xv How many different gods were they worshiping? (Jeremiah 2:32-33; 3:9,12-13,23-24; 10:14; 11:13)xvi (See also Psalms 115 and 121.)xvii Were they praying to Baal and Ashtoreth to save them from Nebuchadnezzar?

13.    God repeatedly pleaded with them to come back to Him and admit that:

Jeremiah 3:23-24: 23 “We were not helped at all by our pagan worship on the hilltops. Help for Israel comes only from the Lord our God. 24 But the worship of Baal, the god of shame, has made us lose flocks and herds, sons and daughters—everything that our ancestors have worked for since ancient times.” (GNB)

14.    Look at some of the images that are mentioned in Jeremiah to describe our God: [Jeremiah 2:13; 3:7; 5:22; 11:22; 31:3]xviii. Why would the people of Judah turn away from such a God to those worthless idols? Are we in any way like them? We are so surrounded by sin that we hardly notice that it is going on. Do we even have any true idea of what it is doing to us? In my opinion, one of the biggest gaps in the Bible is that there is so little discussion of what sin actually does to people? Adam and Eve could walk comfortably in God’s presence. If we saw God in His glory today, it would consume us instantly. (Exodus 33:20xix) What has changed? If we understood better what sin does to us, maybe we would not be so comfortable with it!

15.    What do you think of a God who would tell you not even to pray for your friends and family who had been taken into captivity? (Jeremiah 7:16; 11:14; 1 John 5:16)xx Does it do any good to pray for someone who is blatantly misbehaving and who has no intention of changing? (Jeremiah 14:19-15:2xxi) Why would God not want to forgive? Will such a thing ever happen again? (See Revelation 22:11-12xxii.) Is forgiveness all they will need and all we need? The unpardonable sin means that we are running away from God and telling Him again and again to leave us alone.

16.    Did the darkened minds of the people really comprehend what Jeremiah was saying to them? (Jeremiah 7:27-28xxiii) Did they really understand that they were at the end of their options? (Jeremiah 15:1-9; 23:1-8)xxiv In retrospect, did they understand the reason for their captivity? (See Daniel 9:1-21xxv.) When God said that they should acknowledge their “rebellion,” what specifically was He talking about? (Jeremiah 3:13xxvi)

17.    What were the real messages of Jeremiah? What was God saying about Judah and about Himself in these passages? Jeremiah 3:11-18xxvii; (Compare John 13:34-35; 7:23-28; 9:23-26xxviii; (Compare Romans 1:16-17; 14:7,21; Jeremiah 31:31-34xxix. Have you ever gloried that you understand and know God? Is the gospel primarily about “God’s plan to save you and me”? Or, “The truth about God’s character and His government”? What divided the universe in the beginning? Are we surprised to find such insights about God in the Old Testament? What was the actual covenant that God wanted to have with His people? Was God asking for something more than a ceremonial religion? What does it mean to know the Lord or to be His people? (Jeremiah 31:31-34; 32:38-41)xxx If we really understand what kind of religion God wants, we will realize that the most natural thing of all is to grow up, both intellectually and spiritually. Then, we will begin doing what is right because it is right!

There is a document that records God’s endless, dispiriting struggle with organized religion, known as the Bible.-Terry Eagleton, Reason, Faith, and Revolution: Reflections on the God Debate (Yale University Press, 2010), Kindle Edition, p. 8.

18.    God asks of us a very simple thing. He asks us to make Him the number one Thing in our lives. He asks us to keep Him constantly in view, in our thoughts, and in our desires. He asks us to study the Bible to learn what kind of a Person He is. If we are willing to put aside our selfishness and prejudice and really come to know our heavenly Father, we will gradually come to be like Him. (John 17:3xxxi) This works by the natural laws of the mind. Just as small children grow to be like their parents by observing and copying in every way they can, God asks us to “observe” and “copy” Him. We cannot do that on our own. It is completely beyond our power. But, God will do it for us if we simply give Him the opportunity by doing our best to “observe” and “copy.” When this takes place, our lives and minds and hearts are transformed into His likeness. See 2 Corinthians 3:18xxxii. If we focus on God, we will gradually grow to be like Him.

It is a law both of the intellectual and the spiritual nature that by beholding we become changed. The mind gradually adapts itself to the subjects upon which it is allowed to dwell. It becomes assimilated to that which it is accustomed to love and reverence. Man will never rise higher than his standard of purity or goodness or truth. If self is his loftiest ideal, he will never attain to anything more exalted. Rather, he will constantly sink lower and lower. The grace of God alone has power to exalt man. Left to himself, his course must inevitably be downward.—Ellen G. White, The Great Controversy 555.1.

19.    So, what did it do to the people of Judah to run back and forth between Solomon’s Temple and the religious sites of the fertility cult?

20.    Jeremiah talks a lot about knowing the Lord. (See Jeremiah 2:8; 5:4-5; 8:7; 9:3-4,6,24; 16:21; 22:16; 24:7; 31:34.)xxxiii What do you think is implied by these expressions? Why do you think the use of reason and careful use of the mind have been made fun of in religious circles down through the years? Who do you suppose would lose if everyone would critically examine the reasons for his/her faith? It is often suggested that religion is a matter of the heart and not of the mind; but, the heart is really only good for pumping blood. So, what do we mean by these expressions? In Jeremiah’s day, the heart was thought to be the seat of thinking and reason, and the bowels the seat of the emotions. (Jeremiah 4:19; 31:20xxxiv, KJV)

Scripture speaks of “knowing” God as the spiritual person’s ideal: namely, the fullness of a faith relationship that brings salvation and eternal life, generating love, hope, obedience, and joy (Ex. 33:13; Jer. 31:34; 8:8-12; Dan. 11:32; John 17:3; Gal. 4:8, 9; Phil. 3:8-11; 2 Tim. 1:12; Heb. 8:8-12)xxxv.

The dimensions of this knowledge are intellectual (knowing the truth about God; Deut. 7:9; Ps. 100:3)xxxvi; volitional (trusting, obeying, and worshiping God); and moral (practicing justice and love; Jer. 22:16; 1 John 4:7-8)xxxvii. Faith’s knowledge focuses on Jesus Christ, the incarnate God and the mediator between God and man. Faith seeks specifically to know Christ and His power (Phil. 3:8-14xxxviii). The knowledge fostered by God’s covenant agreement with us is reciprocal, with affection on both sides: we know God as ours because He knows us as His (John 10:14; Gal. 4:9; 2 Tim. 2:19)xxxix. (New Geneva Study Bible) [Bold type is added.]

21.    Have we as Seventh-day Adventists come to the place where we are not of much use to God any more? Is He ready to give us up forever? Will there ever be a time when we could actually say something good and specific about our God? Could we ever specifically say: “God is not the kind of Person His enemies have made Him out to be! He is not even the kind of God that some of His so-called friends have made Him out to be”? What was Israel saying to the nations about their God?

It was in order that the heavenly universe might see the conditions of the covenant of redemption that Christ bore the penalty in behalf of the human race. The throne of Justice must be eternally and forever made secure, even tho the race [That is us!] be wiped out, and another creation populate the earth. By the sacrifice Christ was about to make, all doubts would be forever settled, and the human race would be saved if they would return to their allegiance. Christ alone could restore honor to God’s government. The cross of Calvary would be looked upon by the unfallen worlds, by the heavenly universe, by Satanic agencies, by the fallen race, and every mouth would be stopped.... Who is able to describe the last scenes of Christ’s life on earth, His trial in the judgment hall, His crucifixion?

Who witnessed these scenes?-The heavenly universe, God the Father, Satan and his angels.—Ellen G. White, The Signs of the Times, July 12, 1899, par. 2-3; contrast LHU 257.3. [Bold type, content in brackets, and italics are supplied.]

22.    Now that we have come to where the prophets actually described God letting His people go into captivity, how do you think God felt about that? (Jeremiah 8:18-9:1; 14:19-15:2; 23:1-8; 31:20; Hosea 11:7-8)xl

23.    As we approach the end of their kingdom, do you see the picture of God as given by Jeremiah and others getting more and more obscure and confused? Or, more and more clear? Doesn’t it seem almost like the darker the background (the general condition of the people), the brighter the picture of God and His character appears? Jeremiah 9:23-24xli suggest that we could even come to the place of boasting about God. What would that mean? Paul knew and understood God very well, and he was proud of it. (Romans 1:16-17)xlii Does our knowledge of God make us feel different-give us an exhilarating sense of freedom? There is no worse loss of freedom than to feel fear. Does your knowledge of God make you afraid? Are you afraid of what God may do to you in the future? (1 John 4:18)xliii Are you afraid of an ever-burning hell?

24.    Is it fair for the good to suffer with the bad? Jeremiah suffered even though he was good and had done his best to warn the people of what would come if they did not repent. How honored was Jeremiah in his day? His own family and neighbors wanted to kill him!

25.    After having worked with the children of Israel for approximately 800 years before the time of Jeremiah (from 1400 to 600 B.C.), did God seem to be enjoying a great deal of “success”? What is God trying to work toward? Was the problem that God did not have enough power? Or, even forgiveness? God is Forgiveness Personified!

26.    God has worked with Christians for almost 2000 years. He has worked with adventists since the Great Disappointment in 1844 for more than 171 years. Is He getting tired of us? Are we doing our part in getting ready? (2 Peter 3:10-12)xliv

© 2015, Kenneth Hart, MD, MA, MPH. Permission is hereby granted for any noncommercial use of these materials. Free distribution of all or of a portion of this material such as to a Bible study class is encouraged.    !nfo@theox. org

i-Jeremiah 2:13     for my people have committed two sins:

they have turned away from me,

the spring of fresh water,

and they have dug cisterns,

cracked cisterns that can hold no water at all.

6:20 What do I care about the incense they bring me from Sheba, or the spices from a distant land? I will not accept their offerings or be pleased with their sacrifices.

7:1 The LORD sent me to the gate of the Temple where the people of Judah went in to worship. He told me to stand there and announce what the LORD Almighty, the God of Israel, had to say to them: “Change the way you are living and the things you are doing, and I will let you go on living here. 4 Stop believing those deceitful words, ‘We are safe! This is the LORD's Temple, this is the LORD's Temple, this is the LORD's Temple!’

5 “Change the way you are living and stop doing the things you are doing. Be fair in your treatment of one another. 6 Stop taking advantage of aliens, orphans, and widows. Stop killing innocent people in this land. Stop worshiping other gods, for that will destroy you. 7 If you change, I will let you go on living here in the land which I gave your ancestors as a permanent possession.

8 “Look, you put your trust in deceitful words. 9 You steal, murder, commit adultery, tell lies under oath, offer sacrifices to Baal, and worship gods that you had not known before. 10 You do these things I hate, and then you come and stand in my presence, in my own Temple, and say, ‘We are safe!’

10:1 People of Israel, listen to the message that the LORD has for you. 2 He says,

“Do not follow the ways of other nations;

do not be disturbed by unusual sights in the sky,

even though other nations are terrified.

3 The religion of these people is worthless.

A tree is cut down in the forest;

it is carved by the tools of the woodworker

4     and decorated with silver and gold.

It is fastened down with nails

to keep it from falling over.

5 Such idols are like scarecrows in a field of melons;

they cannot speak;

they have to be carried

because they cannot walk.

Do not be afraid of them:

they can cause you no harm,

and they can do you no good.”

6 LORD, there is no one like you;

you are mighty,

and your name is great and powerful.

7 Who would not honor you, the king of all nations?

You deserve to be honored.

There is no one like you

among all the wise men of the nations

or among any of their kings.

8 All of them are stupid and foolish.

What can they learn from wooden idols?[a]

9 Their idols are covered with silver from Spain

and with gold from Uphaz,

all the work of artists;

they are dressed in violet and purple cloth

woven by skilled weavers.

10 But you, LORD, are the true God,

you are the living God

and the eternal king.

When you are angry, the world trembles;

the nations cannot endure your anger.

(11 You people must tell them that the gods who did not make the earth and the sky will be destroyed. They will no longer exist anywhere on earth.)

A Hymn of Praise to God

12 The LORD made the earth by his power;

by his wisdom he created the world

and stretched out the heavens.

13 At his command the waters above the sky[b] roar;

he brings clouds from the ends of the earth.

He makes lightning flash in the rain

and sends the wind from his storeroom.

14 At the sight of this, people feel stupid and senseless;

those who make idols are disillusioned,

because the gods they make are false and lifeless.

15 They are worthless and should be despised;

they will be destroyed when the LORD comes to deal with them.

23:1 How terrible will be the LORD's judgment on those rulers who destroy and scatter his people! 2 This is what the LORD, the God of Israel, says about the rulers who were supposed to take care of his people: “You have not taken care of my people; you have scattered them and driven them away. Now I am going to punish you for the evil you have done. 3 I will gather the rest of my people from the countries where I have scattered them, and I will bring them back to their homeland. They will have many children and increase in number. 4 I will appoint rulers to take care of them. My people will no longer be afraid or terrified, and I will not punish them again.[a] I, the LORD, have spoken.”

5 The LORD says, “The time is coming when I will choose as king a righteous descendant of David. That king will rule wisely and do what is right and just throughout the land. 6 When he is king, the people of Judah will be safe, and the people of Israel will live in peace. He will be called ‘The LORD Our Salvation.’

7 “The time is coming,” says the LORD, “when people will no longer swear by me as the living God who brought the people of Israel out of the land of Egypt. 8 Instead, they will swear by me as the living God who brought the people of Israel out of a northern land and out of all the other countries where I had scattered them. Then they will live in their own land.”

Matthew 9:12 Jesus heard them and answered, “People who are well do not need a doctor, but only those who are sick.

Deuteronomy 6:5 Love the LORD your God with all your heart, with all your soul, and with all your strength.

ii-Jeremiah 31:31 The LORD says, “The time is coming when I will make a new covenant with the people of Israel and with the people of Judah. 32 It will not be like the old covenant that I made with their ancestors when I took them by the hand and led them out of Egypt. Although I was like a husband to them, they did not keep that covenant. 33 The new covenant that I will make with the people of Israel will be this: I will put my law within them and write it on their hearts. I will be their God, and they will be my people. 34 None of them will have to teach a neighbor to know the LORD, because all will know me, from the least to the greatest. I will forgive their sins and I will no longer remember their wrongs. I, the LORD, have spoken.”

iii-Jeremiah 36:4 So I called Baruch son of Neriah and dictated to him everything that the LORD had said to me. And Baruch wrote it all down on a scroll.

27 After King Jehoiakim had burned the scroll that I had dictated to Baruch, the LORD told me 28 to take another scroll and write on it everything that had been on the first one.

32 Then I took another scroll and gave it to my secretary Baruch, and he wrote down everything that I dictated. He wrote everything that had been on the first scroll and similar messages that I dictated to him.

iv-Jeremiah 36:23 As soon as Jehudi finished reading three or four columns, the king cut them off with a small knife and threw them into the fire. He kept doing this until the entire scroll was burned up. 24 But neither the king nor any of his officials who heard all this was afraid or showed any sign of sorrow. 25 Although Elnathan, Delaiah, and Gemariah begged the king not to burn the scroll, he paid no attention to them. 26 Then he ordered Prince Jerahmeel, together with Seraiah son of Azriel and Shelemiah son of Abdeel, to arrest me and my secretary Baruch. But the LORD had hidden us.

Jeremiah Writes Another Scroll

27 After King Jehoiakim had burned the scroll that I had dictated to Baruch, the LORD told me 28 to take another scroll and write on it everything that had been on the first one.

v-Jeremiah 2:2 The LORD told me 2 to proclaim this message to everyone in Jerusalem.

“I remember how faithful you were when you were young,

how you loved me when we were first married;

you followed me through the desert,

through a land that had not been planted.

3 Israel, you belonged to me alone;

you were my sacred possession.

I sent suffering and disaster

on everyone who hurt you.

I, the LORD, have spoken.”

vi-Jeremiah 31:Good News Translation (GNT)

18 “I hear the people of Israel say in grief,

‘LORD, we were like an untamed animal,

but you taught us to obey.

Bring us back;

we are ready to return to you,

the LORD our God.

19 We turned away from you,

but soon we wanted to return.

After you had punished us,

we hung our heads in grief.

We were ashamed and disgraced

because we sinned when we were young.’

20 “Israel, you are my dearest child,

the one I love best.

Whenever I mention your name,

I think[a] of you with love.

My heart goes out to you;

I will be merciful.

Ezekiel 20:4 “Are you ready to pass sentence on them, mortal man? Then do so. Remind them of the disgusting things their ancestors did. 5 Tell them what I am saying. When I chose Israel, I made them a promise. I revealed myself to them in Egypt and told them: I am the LORD your God. 6 It was then that I promised to take them out of Egypt and lead them to a land I had chosen for them, a rich and fertile land, the finest land of all. 7 I told them to throw away the disgusting idols they loved and not to make themselves unclean with the false gods of Egypt, because I am the LORD their God. 8 But they defied me and refused to listen. They did not throw away their disgusting idols or give up the Egyptian gods. I was ready to let them feel the full force of my anger there in Egypt. 9 But I did not, since that would have brought dishonor to my name, for in the presence of the people among whom they were living I had announced to Israel that I was going to lead them out of Egypt.

10 “And so I led them out of Egypt into the desert. 11 I gave them my commands and taught them my laws, which bring life to anyone who obeys them. 12 I made the keeping of the Sabbath a sign of the agreement between us, to remind them that I, the LORD, make them holy. 13 But even in the desert they defied me. They broke my laws and rejected my commands, which bring life to anyone who obeys them. They completely profaned the Sabbath. I was ready to let them feel the force of my anger there in the desert and to destroy them. 14 But I did not, since that would have brought dishonor to my name among the nations which had seen me lead Israel out of Egypt. 15 So I made a vow in the desert that I would not take them to the land I had given them, a rich and fertile land, the finest land of all. 16 I made the vow because they had rejected my commands, broken my laws, and profaned the Sabbath—they preferred to worship their idols.

17 “But then I took pity on them. I decided not to kill them there in the desert. 18 Instead, I warned the young people among them: Do not keep the laws your ancestors made; do not follow their customs or defile yourselves with their idols. 19 I am the LORD your God. Obey my laws and my commands. 20 Make the Sabbath a holy day, so that it will be a sign of the covenant we made, and will remind you that I am the LORD your God.

21 “But that generation also defied me. They broke my laws and did not keep my commands, which bring life to anyone who obeys them. They profaned the Sabbath. I was ready to let them feel the force of my anger there in the desert and to kill them all. 22 But I did not, since that would have brought dishonor to my name among the nations which had seen me bring Israel out of Egypt. 23 So I made another vow in the desert. I vowed that I would scatter them all over the world. 24 I did this because they had rejected my commands, broken my laws, profaned the Sabbath, and worshiped the same idols their ancestors had served.

25 “Then I gave them laws that are not good and commands that do not bring life. 26 I let them defile themselves with their own offerings, and I let them sacrifice their first-born sons. This was to punish them and show them that I am the LORD.

Hosea 11:11 The LORD says,

“When Israel was a child, I loved him

and called him out of Egypt as my son.[a]

vii-Jeremiah 2:Good News Translation (GNT)

11 No other nation has ever changed its gods,

even though they were not real.

But my people have exchanged me,

the God who has brought them honor,

for gods that can do nothing for them.

3:13 Only admit that you are guilty and that you have rebelled against the LORD, your God. Confess that under every green tree you have given your love to foreign gods and that you have not obeyed my commands. I, the LORD, have spoken.

7:16 The LORD said, “Jeremiah, do not pray for these people. Do not cry or pray on their behalf; do not plead with me, for I will not listen to you. 17 Don't you see what they are doing in the cities of Judah and in the streets of Jerusalem? 18 The children gather firewood, the men build fires, and the women mix dough to bake cakes for the goddess they call the Queen of Heaven. They also pour out offerings of wine to other gods, in order to hurt me. 19 But am I really the one they are hurting? No, they are hurting themselves and bringing shame on themselves.

viii-Revelation 12:4 With his tail he dragged a third of the stars out of the sky and threw them down to the earth. He stood in front of the woman, in order to eat her child as soon as it was born.

ix-James 2:19 Do you believe that there is only one God? Good! The demons also believe—and tremble with fear.

x-1 Samuel 5:1 After the Philistines captured the Covenant Box, they carried it from Ebenezer to their city of Ashdod, 2 took it into the temple of their god Dagon, and set it up beside his statue. 3 Early the next morning the people of Ashdod saw that the statue of Dagon had fallen face downward on the ground in front of the LORD's Covenant Box. So they lifted it up and put it back in its place. 4 Early the following morning they saw that the statue had again fallen down in front of the Covenant Box. This time its head and both its arms were broken off and were lying in the doorway; only the body was left. (5 That is why even today the priests of Dagon and all his worshipers in Ashdod step over that place and do not walk on it.)

xi-Isaiah 44:9 All those who make idols are worthless, and the gods they prize so highly are useless. Those who worship these gods are blind and ignorant—and they will be disgraced. 10 It does no good to make a metal image to worship as a god! 11 Everyone who worships it will be humiliated. The people who make idols are human beings and nothing more. Let them come and stand trial—they will be terrified and will suffer disgrace.

12 The metalworker takes a piece of metal and works with it over a fire. His strong arm swings a hammer to pound the metal into shape. As he works, he gets hungry, thirsty, and tired.

13 The carpenter measures the wood. He outlines a figure with chalk, carves it out with his tools, and makes it in the form of a man, a handsome human figure, to be placed in his house. 14 He might cut down cedars to use, or choose oak or cypress wood from the forest. Or he might plant a laurel tree and wait for the rain to make it grow. 15 A person uses part of a tree for fuel and part of it for making an idol. With one part he builds a fire to warm himself and bake bread; with the other part he makes a god and worships it. 16 With some of the wood he makes a fire; he roasts meat, eats it, and is satisfied. He warms himself and says, “How nice and warm! What a beautiful fire!” 17 The rest of the wood he makes into an idol, and then he bows down and worships it. He prays to it and says, “You are my god—save me!”

18 Such people are too stupid to know what they are doing. They close their eyes and their minds to the truth. 19 The maker of idols hasn't the wit or the sense to say, “Some of the wood I burned up. I baked some bread on the coals, and I roasted meat and ate it. And the rest of the wood I made into an idol. Here I am bowing down to a block of wood!”

20 It makes as much sense[a] as eating ashes. His foolish ideas have so misled him that he is beyond help. He won't admit to himself that the idol he holds in his hand is not a god at all.

Jeremiah 2:27 You will all be disgraced—you that say that a tree is your father and that a rock is your mother. This will happen because you turned away from me instead of turning to me. But when you are in trouble, you ask me to come and save you.

3:9 and was not at all ashamed. She defiled the land, and she committed adultery by worshiping stones and trees.

10:2Good News Translation (GNT)

2 He says,

“Do not follow the ways of other nations;

do not be disturbed by unusual sights in the sky,

even though other nations are terrified.

3 The religion of these people is worthless.

A tree is cut down in the forest;

it is carved by the tools of the woodworker

4     and decorated with silver and gold.

It is fastened down with nails

to keep it from falling over.

5 Such idols are like scarecrows in a field of melons;

they cannot speak;

they have to be carried

because they cannot walk.

Do not be afraid of them:

they can cause you no harm,

and they can do you no good.”

6 LORD, there is no one like you;

you are mighty,

and your name is great and powerful.

7 Who would not honor you, the king of all nations?

You deserve to be honored.

There is no one like you

among all the wise men of the nations

or among any of their kings.

8 All of them are stupid and foolish.

What can they learn from wooden idols?[a]

9 Their idols are covered with silver from Spain

and with gold from Uphaz,

all the work of artists;

they are dressed in violet and purple cloth

woven by skilled weavers.

10 But you, LORD, are the true God,

you are the living God

and the eternal king.

When you are angry, the world trembles;

the nations cannot endure your anger.

(11 You people must tell them that the gods who did not make the earth and the sky will be destroyed. They will no longer exist anywhere on earth.)

A Hymn of Praise to God

12 The LORD made the earth by his power;

by his wisdom he created the world

and stretched out the heavens.

13 At his command the waters above the sky[b] roar;

he brings clouds from the ends of the earth.

He makes lightning flash in the rain

and sends the wind from his storeroom.

14 At the sight of this, people feel stupid and senseless;

those who make idols are disillusioned,

because the gods they make are false and lifeless.

15 They are worthless and should be despised;

they will be destroyed when the LORD comes to deal with them.

16 The God of Jacob is not like them;

he is the one who made everything,

and he has chosen Israel to be his very own people.

The LORD Almighty is his name.

xii-Jeremiah 7:1 The LORD sent me to the gate of the Temple where the people of Judah went in to worship. He told me to stand there and announce what the LORD Almighty, the God of Israel, had to say to them: “Change the way you are living and the things you are doing, and I will let you go on living here. 4 Stop believing those deceitful words, ‘We are safe! This is the LORD's Temple, this is the LORD's Temple, this is the LORD's Temple!’

5 “Change the way you are living and stop doing the things you are doing. Be fair in your treatment of one another. 6 Stop taking advantage of aliens, orphans, and widows. Stop killing innocent people in this land. Stop worshiping other gods, for that will destroy you. 7 If you change, I will let you go on living here in the land which I gave your ancestors as a permanent possession.

8 “Look, you put your trust in deceitful words. 9 You steal, murder, commit adultery, tell lies under oath, offer sacrifices to Baal, and worship gods that you had not known before. 10 You do these things I hate, and then you come and stand in my presence, in my own Temple, and say, ‘We are safe!’ 11 Do you think that my Temple is a hiding place for robbers? I have seen what you are doing.

xiii-1 Samuel 4:1 At that time the Philistines gathered to go to war against Israel, so[a] the Israelites set out to fight them. The Israelites set up their camp at Ebenezer and the Philistines at Aphek. 2 The Philistines attacked, and after fierce fighting they defeated the Israelites and killed about four thousand men on the battlefield. 3 When the survivors came back to camp, the leaders of Israel said, “Why did the LORD let the Philistines defeat us today? Let's go and bring the LORD's Covenant Box from Shiloh, so that he[b] will go with us and save us from our enemies.” 4 So they sent messengers to Shiloh and got the Covenant Box of the LORD Almighty, who is enthroned above the winged creatures.[c] And Eli's two sons, Hophni and Phinehas, came along with the Covenant Box.

5 When the Covenant Box arrived, the Israelites gave such a loud shout of joy that the earth shook. 6 The Philistines heard the shouting and said, “Listen to all that shouting in the Hebrew camp! What does it mean?” When they found out that the LORD's Covenant Box had arrived in the Hebrew camp, 7 they were afraid, and said, “A god has come into their camp! We're lost! Nothing like this has ever happened to us before! 8 Who can save us from those powerful gods? They are the gods who slaughtered the Egyptians in the desert! 9 Be brave, Philistines! Fight like men, or we will become slaves to the Hebrews, just as they were our slaves. So fight like men!”

10 The Philistines fought hard and defeated the Israelites, who went running to their homes. There was a great slaughter: thirty thousand Israelite soldiers were killed. 11 God's Covenant Box was captured, and Eli's sons, Hophni and Phinehas, were both killed.

The Death of Eli

12 A man from the tribe of Benjamin ran all the way from the battlefield to Shiloh and arrived there the same day. To show his grief, he had torn his clothes and put dirt on his head. 13 Eli, who was very worried about the Covenant Box, was sitting in his seat beside the road, staring. The man spread the news throughout the town, and everyone cried out in fear. 14 Eli heard the noise and asked, “What is all this noise about?” The man hurried to Eli to tell him the news. (15 Eli was now ninety-eight years old and almost completely blind.) 16 The man said, “I have escaped from the battle and have run all the way here today.”

Eli asked him, “What happened, my son?”

17 The messenger answered, “Israel ran away from the Philistines; it was a terrible defeat for us! Besides that, your sons Hophni and Phinehas were killed, and God's Covenant Box was captured!”

18 When the man mentioned the Covenant Box, Eli fell backward from his seat beside the gate. He was so old and fat that the fall broke his neck, and he died. He had been a leader in Israel for forty years.

The Death of the Widow of Phinehas

19 Eli's daughter-in-law, the wife of Phinehas, was pregnant, and it was almost time for her baby to be born. When she heard that God's Covenant Box had been captured and that her father-in-law and her husband were dead, she suddenly went into labor and gave birth. 20 As she was dying, the women helping her said to her, “Be brave! You have a son!” But she paid no attention and did not answer. 21 She named the boy Ichabod,[d] explaining, “God's glory has left Israel”—referring to the capture of the Covenant Box and the death of her father-in-law and her husband. 22 “God's glory has left Israel,” she said, “because God's Covenant Box has been captured.”

xiv-Matthew 6:24 “You cannot be a slave of two masters; you will hate one and love the other; you will be loyal to one and despise the other. You cannot serve both God and money.

Luke 16:13 “No servant can be the slave of two masters; such a slave will hate one and love the other or will be loyal to one and despise the other. You cannot serve both God and money.”

xv-Jeremiah 2:Good News Translation (GNT)

5 The LORD says:

“What accusation did your ancestors bring against me?

What made them turn away from me?

They worshiped worthless idols

and became worthless themselves.

Good News Translation (GNT)

2:19 Your own evil will punish you,

and your turning from me will condemn you.

You will learn how bitter and wrong it is

to abandon me, the LORD your God,

and no longer to remain faithful to me.

I, the Sovereign LORD Almighty, have spoken.”

7:19 But am I really the one they are hurting? No, they are hurting themselves and bringing shame on themselves.

Isaiah 44:9 All those who make idols are worthless, and the gods they prize so highly are useless. Those who worship these gods are blind and ignorant—and they will be disgraced. 10 It does no good to make a metal image to worship as a god! 11 Everyone who worships it will be humiliated. The people who make idols are human beings and nothing more. Let them come and stand trial—they will be terrified and will suffer disgrace.

12 The metalworker takes a piece of metal and works with it over a fire. His strong arm swings a hammer to pound the metal into shape. As he works, he gets hungry, thirsty, and tired.

13 The carpenter measures the wood. He outlines a figure with chalk, carves it out with his tools, and makes it in the form of a man, a handsome human figure, to be placed in his house. 14 He might cut down cedars to use, or choose oak or cypress wood from the forest. Or he might plant a laurel tree and wait for the rain to make it grow. 15 A person uses part of a tree for fuel and part of it for making an idol. With one part he builds a fire to warm himself and bake bread; with the other part he makes a god and worships it. 16 With some of the wood he makes a fire; he roasts meat, eats it, and is satisfied. He warms himself and says, “How nice and warm! What a beautiful fire!” 17 The rest of the wood he makes into an idol, and then he bows down and worships it. He prays to it and says, “You are my god—save me!”

18 Such people are too stupid to know what they are doing. They close their eyes and their minds to the truth. 19 The maker of idols hasn't the wit or the sense to say, “Some of the wood I burned up. I baked some bread on the coals, and I roasted meat and ate it. And the rest of the wood I made into an idol. Here I am bowing down to a block of wood!”

20 It makes as much sense[a] as eating ashes. His foolish ideas have so misled him that he is beyond help. He won't admit to himself that the idol he holds in his hand is not a god at all.

Hosea 9:10 The LORD says, “When I first found Israel, it was like finding grapes growing in the desert. When I first saw your ancestors, it was like seeing the first ripe figs of the season. But when they came to Mount Peor, they began to worship Baal and soon became as disgusting as the gods they loved.

Romans 1:18 God's anger is revealed from heaven against all the sin and evil of the people whose evil ways prevent the truth from being known. 19 God punishes them, because what can be known about God is plain to them, for God himself made it plain. 20 Ever since God created the world, his invisible qualities, both his eternal power and his divine nature, have been clearly seen; they are perceived in the things that God has made. So those people have no excuse at all! 21 They know God, but they do not give him the honor that belongs to him, nor do they thank him. Instead, their thoughts have become complete nonsense, and their empty minds are filled with darkness. 22 They say they are wise, but they are fools; 23 instead of worshiping the immortal God, they worship images made to look like mortals or birds or animals or reptiles.

24 And so God has given those people over to do the filthy things their hearts desire, and they do shameful things with each other. 25 They exchange the truth about God for a lie; they worship and serve what God has created instead of the Creator himself, who is to be praised forever! Amen.

26 Because they do this, God has given them over to shameful passions. Even the women pervert the natural use of their sex by unnatural acts. 27 In the same way the men give up natural sexual relations with women and burn with passion for each other. Men do shameful things with each other, and as a result they bring upon themselves the punishment they deserve for their wrongdoing.

28 Because those people refuse to keep in mind the true knowledge about God, he has given them over to corrupted minds, so that they do the things that they should not do. 29 They are filled with all kinds of wickedness, evil, greed, and vice; they are full of jealousy, murder, fighting, deceit, and malice. They gossip 30 and speak evil of one another; they are hateful to God, insolent,[a] proud, and boastful; they think of more ways to do evil; they disobey their parents; 31 they have no conscience; they do not keep their promises, and they show no kindness or pity for others.

xvi-Jeremiah 2:32 Does a young woman forget her jewelry, or a bride her wedding dress? But my people have forgotten me for more days than can be counted. 33 You certainly know how to chase after lovers. Even the worst of women can learn from you.

3:9 and was not at all ashamed. She defiled the land, and she committed adultery by worshiping stones and trees.

3:12 He told me to go and say to Israel, “Unfaithful Israel, come back to me. I am merciful and will not be angry; I will not be angry with you forever. 13 Only admit that you are guilty and that you have rebelled against the LORD, your God. Confess that under every green tree you have given your love to foreign gods and that you have not obeyed my commands. I, the LORD, have spoken.

3:23 We were not helped at all by our pagan worship on the hilltops. Help for Israel comes only from the LORD our God. 24 But the worship of Baal, the god of shame, has made us lose flocks and herds, sons and daughters—everything that our ancestors have worked for since ancient times.

10:Good News Translation (GNT)

14 At the sight of this, people feel stupid and senseless;

those who make idols are disillusioned,

because the gods they make are false and lifeless.

11:13 The people of Judah have as many gods as they have cities, and the inhabitants of Jerusalem have set up as many altars for sacrifices to that disgusting god Baal as there are streets in the city.

xvii-Psalms 115:Good News Translation (GNT)

The One True God

115 To you alone, O LORD, to you alone,

and not to us, must glory be given

because of your constant love and faithfulness.

2 Why should the nations ask us,

“Where is your God?”

3 Our God is in heaven;

he does whatever he wishes.

4 Their gods are made of silver and gold,

formed by human hands.

5 They have mouths, but cannot speak,

and eyes, but cannot see.

6 They have ears, but cannot hear,

and noses, but cannot smell.

7 They have hands, but cannot feel,

and feet, but cannot walk;

they cannot make a sound.

8 May all who made them and who trust in them

become[a] like the idols they have made.

9 Trust in the LORD, you people of Israel.

He helps you and protects you.

10 Trust in the LORD, you priests of God.

He helps you and protects you.

11 Trust in the LORD, all you that worship him.

He helps you and protects you.

12 The LORD remembers us and will bless us;

he will bless the people of Israel

and all the priests of God.

13 He will bless everyone who honors him,

the great and the small alike.

14 May the LORD give you children—

you and your descendants!

15 May you be blessed by the LORD,

who made heaven and earth!

16 Heaven belongs to the LORD alone,

but he gave the earth to us humans.

17 The LORD is not praised by the dead,

by any who go down to the land of silence.[b]

18 But we, the living, will give thanks to him

now and forever.

Praise the LORD!

Psalms 121:Good News Translation (GNT)

The Lord Our Protector

121 I look to the mountains;

where will my help come from?

2 My help will come from the LORD,

who made heaven and earth.

3 He will not let you fall;

your protector is always awake.

4 The protector of Israel

never dozes or sleeps.

5 The LORD will guard you;

he is by your side to protect you.

6 The sun will not hurt you during the day,

nor the moon during the night.

7 The LORD will protect you from all danger;

he will keep you safe.

8 He will protect you as you come and go

now and forever.

xviii-Jeremiah 2:Good News Translation (GNT)

13     for my people have committed two sins:

they have turned away from me,

the spring of fresh water,

and they have dug cisterns,

cracked cisterns that can hold no water at all.

3:7 I thought that after she had done all this, she would surely return to me. But she did not return, and her unfaithful sister Judah saw it all.

5:22 I am the LORD; why don't you fear me? Why don't you tremble before me? I placed the sand as the boundary of the sea, a permanent boundary that it cannot cross. The sea may toss, but it cannot go beyond it; the waves may roar, but they cannot break through.

11:22 So the LORD Almighty said, “I will punish them! Their young men will be killed in war; their children will die of starvation.

31:3 I appeared to them[a] from far away. People of Israel, I have always loved you, so I continue to show you my constant love.

xix-Exodus 33:20 I will not let you see my face, because no one can see me and stay alive,

xx-Jeremiah 7:16 The LORD said, “Jeremiah, do not pray for these people. Do not cry or pray on their behalf; do not plead with me, for I will not listen to you.

11:14 Jeremiah, don't pray to me or plead with me on behalf of these people. When they are in trouble and call to me for help, I will not listen to them.”

1 John 5:16 If you see a believer commit a sin that does not lead to death, you should pray to God, who will give that person life. This applies to those whose sins do not lead to death. But there is sin which leads to death, and I do not say that you should pray to God about that.

xxi-Jeremiah 14:Good News Translation (GNT)

The People Plead with the LORD

19 LORD, have you completely rejected Judah?

Do you hate the people of Zion?

Why have you hurt us so badly

that we cannot be healed?

We looked for peace, but nothing good happened;

we hoped for healing, but terror came instead.

20 We have sinned against you, LORD;

we confess our own sins

and the sins of our ancestors.

21 Remember your promises and do not despise us;

do not bring disgrace on Jerusalem,

the place of your glorious throne.

Do not break the covenant you made with us.

22 None of the idols of the nations can send rain;

the sky by itself cannot make showers fall.

We have put our hope in you, O LORD our God,

because you are the one who does these things.

Doom for the People of Judah

15 Then the LORD said to me, “Even if Moses and Samuel were standing here pleading with me, I would not show these people any mercy. Make them go away; make them get out of my sight. 2 When they ask you where they should go, tell them that I have said:

Some are doomed to die by disease—

that's where they will go!

Others are doomed to die in war—

that's where they will go!

Some are doomed to die of starvation—

that's where they will go!

Others are doomed to be taken away as prisoners—

that's where they will go!

xxii-Revelation 22:11 Whoever is evil must go on doing evil, and whoever is filthy must go on being filthy; whoever is good must go on doing good, and whoever is holy must go on being holy.”

12 “Listen!” says Jesus. “I am coming soon! I will bring my rewards with me, to give to each one according to what he has done.

xxiii-Jeremiah 7:27 “So, Jeremiah, you will speak all these words to my people, but they will not listen to you; you will call them, but they will not answer. 28 You will tell them that their nation does not obey me, the LORD their God, or learn from their punishment. Faithfulness is dead. No longer is it even talked about.

xxiv-Jeremiah 15:Good News Translation (GNT)

Doom for the People of Judah

15 Then the LORD said to me, “Even if Moses and Samuel were standing here pleading with me, I would not show these people any mercy. Make them go away; make them get out of my sight. 2 When they ask you where they should go, tell them that I have said:

Some are doomed to die by disease—

that's where they will go!

Others are doomed to die in war—

that's where they will go!

Some are doomed to die of starvation—

that's where they will go!

Others are doomed to be taken away as prisoners—

that's where they will go!

3 I, the LORD, have decided that four terrible things will happen to them: they will be killed in war; their bodies will be dragged off by dogs; birds will eat them, and wild animals will devour what is left over.

4 I will make all the people of the world horrified at them because of what Hezekiah's son Manasseh did in Jerusalem when he was king of Judah.”

5 The LORD says,

“Who will pity you, people of Jerusalem,

and who will grieve over you?

Who will stop long enough

to ask how you are?

6 You people have rejected me;

you have turned your backs on me.

So I reached out and crushed you

because I was tired of controlling my anger.[a]

7 In every town in the land

I threw you to the wind like straw.

I destroyed you, my people,

I killed your children

because you did not stop your evil ways.

8 There are more widows in your land

than grains of sand by the sea.

I killed your young men in their prime

and made their mothers suffer.

I suddenly struck them

with anguish and terror.

9 The mother who lost her seven children has fainted,

gasping for breath.

Her daylight has turned to darkness;

she is disgraced and sick at heart.

I will let your enemies kill

those of you who are still alive.

I, the LORD, have spoken.”

23:1 How terrible will be the LORD's judgment on those rulers who destroy and scatter his people! 2 This is what the LORD, the God of Israel, says about the rulers who were supposed to take care of his people: “You have not taken care of my people; you have scattered them and driven them away. Now I am going to punish you for the evil you have done. 3 I will gather the rest of my people from the countries where I have scattered them, and I will bring them back to their homeland. They will have many children and increase in number. 4 I will appoint rulers to take care of them. My people will no longer be afraid or terrified, and I will not punish them again.[a] I, the LORD, have spoken.”

5 The LORD says, “The time is coming when I will choose as king a righteous descendant of David. That king will rule wisely and do what is right and just throughout the land. 6 When he is king, the people of Judah will be safe, and the people of Israel will live in peace. He will be called ‘The LORD Our Salvation.’

7 “The time is coming,” says the LORD, “when people will no longer swear by me as the living God who brought the people of Israel out of the land of Egypt. 8 Instead, they will swear by me as the living God who brought the people of Israel out of a northern land and out of all the other countries where I had scattered them. Then they will live in their own land.”

xxv-Daniel 9:1 Darius the Mede, who was the son of Xerxes, ruled over the kingdom of Babylonia. 2 In the first year of his reign I was studying the sacred books and thinking about the seventy years that Jerusalem would be in ruins, according to what the LORD had told the prophet Jeremiah. 3 And I prayed earnestly to the Lord God, pleading with him, fasting, wearing sackcloth, and sitting in ashes. 4 I prayed to the LORD my God and confessed the sins of my people.

I said, “Lord God, you are great, and we honor you. You are faithful to your covenant and show constant love to those who love you and do what you command.

5 “We have sinned, we have been evil, we have done wrong. We have rejected what you commanded us to do and have turned away from what you showed us was right. 6 We have not listened to your servants the prophets, who spoke in your name to our kings, our rulers, our ancestors, and our whole nation. 7 You, Lord, always do what is right, but we have always brought disgrace on ourselves. This is true of all of us who live in Judea and in Jerusalem and of all the Israelites whom you scattered in countries near and far because they were unfaithful to you. 8 Our kings, our rulers, and our ancestors have acted shamefully and sinned against you, Lord. 9 You are merciful and forgiving, although we have rebelled against you. 10 We did not listen to you, O LORD our God, when you told us to live according to the laws which you gave us through your servants the prophets. 11 All Israel broke your laws and refused to listen to what you said. We sinned against you, and so you brought on us the curses that are written in the Law of Moses, your servant. 12 You did what you said you would do to us and our rulers. You punished Jerusalem more severely than any other city on earth, 13 giving us all the punishment described in the Law of Moses. But even now, O LORD our God, we have not tried to please you by turning from our sins or by following your truth. 14 You, O LORD our God, were prepared to punish us, and you did, because you always do what is right, and we did not listen to you.

15 “O Lord our God, you showed your power by bringing your people out of Egypt, and your power is still remembered. We have sinned; we have done wrong. 16 You have defended us in the past, so do not be angry with Jerusalem any longer. It is your city, your sacred hill.[a] All the people in the neighboring countries look down on Jerusalem and on your people because of our sins and the evil our ancestors did. 17 O God, hear my prayer and pleading. Restore your Temple, which has been destroyed; restore it so that everyone will know that you are God. 18 Listen to us, O God; look at us and see the trouble we are in and the suffering of the city that bears your name. We are praying to you because you are merciful, not because we have done right. 19 Lord, hear us. Lord, forgive us. Lord, listen to us, and act! In order that everyone will know that you are God, do not delay! This city and these people are yours.”

Gabriel Explains the Prophecy

20 I went on praying, confessing my sins and the sins of my people Israel and pleading with the LORD my God to restore his holy Temple. 21 While I was praying, Gabriel, whom I had seen in the earlier vision, came flying down to where I was. It was the time for the evening sacrifice to be offered.

xxvi-Jeremiah 3: 13 Only admit that you are guilty and that you have rebelled against the LORD, your God. Confess that under every green tree you have given your love to foreign gods and that you have not obeyed my commands. I, the LORD, have spoken.

xxvii-Jeremiah 3:11 Then the LORD told me that, even though Israel had turned away from him, she had proved to be better than unfaithful Judah. 12 He told me to go and say to Israel, “Unfaithful Israel, come back to me. I am merciful and will not be angry; I will not be angry with you forever. 13 Only admit that you are guilty and that you have rebelled against the LORD, your God. Confess that under every green tree you have given your love to foreign gods and that you have not obeyed my commands. I, the LORD, have spoken.

14 “Unfaithful people, come back; you belong to me. I will take one of you from each town and two from each clan, and I will bring you back to Mount Zion. 15 I will give you rulers who obey me, and they will rule you with wisdom and understanding. 16 Then when you have become numerous in that land, people will no longer talk about my Covenant Box. They will no longer think about it or remember it; they will not even need it, nor will they make another one. 17 When that time comes, Jerusalem will be called ‘The Throne of the LORD,’ and all nations will gather there to worship me. They will no longer do what their stubborn and evil hearts tell them. 18 Israel will join with Judah, and together they will come from exile in the country in the north and will return to the land that I gave your ancestors as a permanent possession.”

xxviii-John 13:34 And now I give you a new commandment: love one another. As I have loved you, so you must love one another. 35 If you have love for one another, then everyone will know that you are my disciples.”

7:23 If a boy is circumcised on the Sabbath so that Moses' Law is not broken, why are you angry with me because I made a man completely well on the Sabbath? 24 Stop judging by external standards, and judge by true standards.”

Is He the Messiah?

25 Some of the people of Jerusalem said, “Isn't this the man the authorities are trying to kill? 26 Look! He is talking in public, and they say nothing against him! Can it be that they really know that he is the Messiah? 27 But when the Messiah comes, no one will know where he is from. And we all know where this man comes from.”

28 As Jesus taught in the Temple, he said in a loud voice, “Do you really know me and know where I am from? I have not come on my own authority. He who sent me, however, is truthful. You do not know him,

9:23 That is why his parents said, “He is old enough; ask him!”

24 A second time they called back the man who had been born blind, and said to him, “Promise before God that you will tell the truth! We know that this man who cured you is a sinner.”

25 “I do not know if he is a sinner or not,” the man replied. “One thing I do know: I was blind, and now I see.”

26 “What did he do to you?” they asked. “How did he cure you of your blindness?”

xxix-Romans 1:16 I have complete confidence in the gospel; it is God's power to save all who believe, first the Jews and also the Gentiles. 17 For the gospel reveals how God puts people right with himself: it is through faith from beginning to end. As the scripture says, “The person who is put right with God through faith shall live.”[a]

14:7 We do not live for ourselves only, and we do not die for ourselves only.

21 The right thing to do is to keep from eating meat, drinking wine, or doing anything else that will make other believers fall.

Jeremiah 31:31 The LORD says, “The time is coming when I will make a new covenant with the people of Israel and with the people of Judah. 32 It will not be like the old covenant that I made with their ancestors when I took them by the hand and led them out of Egypt. Although I was like a husband to them, they did not keep that covenant. 33 The new covenant that I will make with the people of Israel will be this: I will put my law within them and write it on their hearts. I will be their God, and they will be my people. 34 None of them will have to teach a neighbor to know the LORD, because all will know me, from the least to the greatest. I will forgive their sins and I will no longer remember their wrongs. I, the LORD, have spoken.”

xxx-Jeremiah 31:31 The LORD says, “The time is coming when I will make a new covenant with the people of Israel and with the people of Judah. 32 It will not be like the old covenant that I made with their ancestors when I took them by the hand and led them out of Egypt. Although I was like a husband to them, they did not keep that covenant. 33 The new covenant that I will make with the people of Israel will be this: I will put my law within them and write it on their hearts. I will be their God, and they will be my people. 34 None of them will have to teach a neighbor to know the LORD, because all will know me, from the least to the greatest. I will forgive their sins and I will no longer remember their wrongs. I, the LORD, have spoken.”

32:38 Then they will be my people, and I will be their God. 39 I will give them a single purpose in life: to honor me for all time, for their own good and the good of their descendants. 40 I will make an eternal covenant with them. I will never stop doing good things for them, and I will make them fear me with all their heart, so that they will never turn away from me. 41 I will take pleasure in doing good things for them, and I will establish them permanently in this land.

xxxi-John 17:3 And eternal life means to know you, the only true God, and to know Jesus Christ, whom you sent.

xxxii-2 Corinthians 3:18 All of us, then, reflect the glory of the Lord with uncovered faces; and that same glory, coming from the Lord, who is the Spirit, transforms us into his likeness in an ever greater degree of glory.

xxxiii-Jeremiah 2:Good News Translation (GNT)

8 The priests did not ask, ‘Where is the LORD?’

My own priests did not know me.

The rulers rebelled against me;

the prophets spoke in the name of Baal

and worshiped useless idols.

5:Good News Translation (GNT)

4 Then I thought, “These are only the poor and ignorant.

They behave foolishly;

they don't know what their God requires,

what the LORD wants them to do.

5 I will go to the people in power

and talk with them.

Surely they know what their God requires,

what the LORD wants them to do.”

But all of them have rejected the LORD's authority

and refuse to obey him.

8:7 Even storks know when it is time to return; doves, swallows, and thrushes know when it is time to migrate. But, my people, you do not know the laws by which I rule you.

9:Good News Translation (GNT)

3 They are always ready to tell lies;

dishonesty instead of truth rules the land.

The LORD says,

“My people do one evil thing after another

and do not acknowledge me as their God.”

4 Everyone must be on guard against their friends,

and no one can trust their relatives;

for all relatives are as deceitful as Jacob,

and everyone slanders their friends.

Good News Translation (GNT)

5-6 They all mislead their friends,

and no one tells the truth;

they have taught their tongues to lie

and will not give up their sinning.

They do one violent thing after another,

and one deceitful act follows another.

The LORD says that his people reject him.

Good News Translation (GNT)

24 If any want to boast,

they should boast that they know and understand me,

because my love is constant,

and I do what is just and right.

These are the things that please me.

I, the LORD, have spoken.”

16:21 “So then,” says the LORD, “once and for all I will make the nations know my power and my might; they will know that I am the LORD.”

22:Good News Translation (GNT)

16 He gave the poor a fair trial,

and all went well with him.

That is what it means to know the LORD.

24:7 I will give them the desire to know that I am the LORD. Then they will be my people, and I will be their God, because they will return to me with all their heart.

31:34 None of them will have to teach a neighbor to know the LORD, because all will know me, from the least to the greatest. I will forgive their sins and I will no longer remember their wrongs. I, the LORD, have spoken.”

xxxiv-Jeremiah 4:19 My bowels, my bowels! I am pained at my very heart; my heart maketh a noise in me; I cannot hold my peace, because thou hast heard, O my soul, the sound of the trumpet, the alarm of war.

31:20 Is Ephraim my dear son? is he a pleasant child? for since I spake against him, I do earnestly remember him still: therefore my bowels are troubled for him; I will surely have mercy upon him, saith the LORD.

xxxv-Ex. 33:13 Now if you are, tell me your plans, so that I may serve you and continue to please you. Remember also that you have chosen this nation to be your own.”

Jer. 31:34 None of them will have to teach a neighbor to know the LORD, because all will know me, from the least to the greatest. I will forgive their sins and I will no longer remember their wrongs. I, the LORD, have spoken.”

8:8 How can you say that you are wise and that you know my laws? Look, the laws have been changed by dishonest scribes. 9 Your wise men are put to shame; they are confused and trapped. They have rejected my words; what wisdom do they have now? 10 So I will give their fields to new owners and their wives to other men. Everyone, great and small, tries to make money dishonestly. Even prophets and priests cheat the people. 11 They act as if my people's wounds were only scratches. ‘All is well,’ they say, when all is not well. 12 My people, were you ashamed because you did these disgusting things? No, you were not ashamed at all; you don't even know how to blush! And so you will fall as others have fallen; when I punish you, that will be the end of you. I, the LORD, have spoken.

Dan. 11:32 By deceit the king will win the support of those who have already abandoned their religion, but those who follow God will fight back.

John 17:3 And eternal life means to know you, the only true God, and to know Jesus Christ, whom you sent.

Gal. 4:8 In the past you did not know God, and so you were slaves of beings who are not gods.

9 But now that you know God—or, I should say, now that God knows you—how is it that you want to turn back to those weak and pitiful ruling spirits? Why do you want to become their slaves all over again?

Phil. 3:8 Not only those things; I reckon everything as complete loss for the sake of what is so much more valuable, the knowledge of Christ Jesus my Lord. For his sake I have thrown everything away; I consider it all as mere garbage, so that I may gain Christ 9 and be completely united with him. I no longer have a righteousness of my own, the kind that is gained by obeying the Law. I now have the righteousness that is given through faith in Christ, the righteousness that comes from God and is based on faith. 10 All I want is to know Christ and to experience the power of his resurrection, to share in his sufferings and become like him in his death, 11 in the hope that I myself will be raised from death to life.

2 Tim. 1:12 and it is for this reason that I suffer these things. But I am still full of confidence, because I know whom I have trusted, and I am sure that he is able to keep safe until that Day what he has entrusted to me.[a]

Heb. 8:Good News Translation (GNT)

8 But God finds fault with his people when he says,

“The days are coming, says the Lord,

when I will draw up a new covenant with the people of Israel and with the people of Judah.

9 It will not be like the covenant that I made with their ancestors

on the day I took them by the hand and led them out of Egypt.

They were not faithful to the covenant I made with them,

and so I paid no attention to them.

10 Now, this is the covenant that I will make with the people of Israel

in the days to come, says the Lord:

I will put my laws in their minds

and write them on their hearts.

I will be their God,

and they will be my people.

11 None of them will have to teach their friends

or tell their neighbors,

‘Know the Lord.’

For they will all know me,

from the least to the greatest.

12 I will forgive their sins

and will no longer remember their wrongs.”

xxxvi-Deut. 7:9 Remember that the LORD your God is the only God and that he is faithful. He will keep his covenant and show his constant love to a thousand generations of those who love him and obey his commands,

Ps. 100:Good News Translation (GNT)

3 Acknowledge that the LORD is God.

He made us, and we belong to him;

we are his people, we are his flock.

xxxvii-Jer. 22:Good News Translation (GNT)

16 He gave the poor a fair trial,

and all went well with him.

That is what it means to know the LORD.

1 John 4:7 Dear friends, let us love one another, because love comes from God. Whoever loves is a child of God and knows God. 8 Whoever does not love does not know God, for God is love.

xxxviii-Phil. 3:8 Not only those things; I reckon everything as complete loss for the sake of what is so much more valuable, the knowledge of Christ Jesus my Lord. For his sake I have thrown everything away; I consider it all as mere garbage, so that I may gain Christ 9 and be completely united with him. I no longer have a righteousness of my own, the kind that is gained by obeying the Law. I now have the righteousness that is given through faith in Christ, the righteousness that comes from God and is based on faith. 10 All I want is to know Christ and to experience the power of his resurrection, to share in his sufferings and become like him in his death, 11 in the hope that I myself will be raised from death to life.

Running toward the Goal

12 I do not claim that I have already succeeded or have already become perfect. I keep striving to win the prize for which Christ Jesus has already won me to himself. 13 Of course, my friends, I really do not[a] think that I have already won it; the one thing I do, however, is to forget what is behind me and do my best to reach what is ahead. 14 So I run straight toward the goal in order to win the prize, which is God's call through Christ Jesus to the life above.

xxxix-John 10:14-15 I am the good shepherd. As the Father knows me and I know the Father, in the same way I know my sheep and they know me. And I am willing to die for them.

Gal. 4:9 But now that you know God—or, I should say, now that God knows you—how is it that you want to turn back to those weak and pitiful ruling spirits? Why do you want to become their slaves all over again?

2 Tim. 2:19 But the solid foundation that God has laid cannot be shaken; and on it are written these words: “The Lord knows those who are his” and “Those who say that they belong to the Lord must turn away from wrongdoing.”

xl-Jeremiah 8:Good News Translation (GNT)

Jeremiah's Sorrow for His People

18 My sorrow cannot be healed;[a]

I am sick at heart.

19 Listen! Throughout the land

I hear my people crying out,

“Is the LORD no longer in Zion?

Is Zion's king no longer there?”

The LORD, their king, replies,

“Why have you made me angry by worshiping your idols

and by bowing down to your useless foreign gods?”

20 The people cry out,

“The summer is gone, the harvest is over,

but we have not been saved.”

21 My heart has been crushed

because my people are crushed;

I mourn; I am completely dismayed.

22 Is there no medicine in Gilead?[b]

Are there no doctors there?

Why, then, have my people not been healed?

9 I wish my head were a well of water,

and my eyes a fountain of tears,

so that I could cry day and night

for my people who have been killed.

14:The People Plead with the LORD

19 LORD, have you completely rejected Judah?

Do you hate the people of Zion?

Why have you hurt us so badly

that we cannot be healed?

We looked for peace, but nothing good happened;

we hoped for healing, but terror came instead.

20 We have sinned against you, LORD;

we confess our own sins

and the sins of our ancestors.

21 Remember your promises and do not despise us;

do not bring disgrace on Jerusalem,

the place of your glorious throne.

Do not break the covenant you made with us.

22 None of the idols of the nations can send rain;

the sky by itself cannot make showers fall.

We have put our hope in you, O LORD our God,

because you are the one who does these things.

Doom for the People of Judah

15 Then the LORD said to me, “Even if Moses and Samuel were standing here pleading with me, I would not show these people any mercy. Make them go away; make them get out of my sight. 2 When they ask you where they should go, tell them that I have said:

Some are doomed to die by disease—

that's where they will go!

Others are doomed to die in war—

that's where they will go!

Some are doomed to die of starvation—

that's where they will go!

Others are doomed to be taken away as prisoners—

that's where they will go!

23:23 How terrible will be the LORD's judgment on those rulers who destroy and scatter his people! 2 This is what the LORD, the God of Israel, says about the rulers who were supposed to take care of his people: “You have not taken care of my people; you have scattered them and driven them away. Now I am going to punish you for the evil you have done. 3 I will gather the rest of my people from the countries where I have scattered them, and I will bring them back to their homeland. They will have many children and increase in number. 4 I will appoint rulers to take care of them. My people will no longer be afraid or terrified, and I will not punish them again.[a] I, the LORD, have spoken.”

5 The LORD says, “The time is coming when I will choose as king a righteous descendant of David. That king will rule wisely and do what is right and just throughout the land. 6 When he is king, the people of Judah will be safe, and the people of Israel will live in peace. He will be called ‘The LORD Our Salvation.’

7 “The time is coming,” says the LORD, “when people will no longer swear by me as the living God who brought the people of Israel out of the land of Egypt. 8 Instead, they will swear by me as the living God who brought the people of Israel out of a northern land and out of all the other countries where I had scattered them. Then they will live in their own land.”

31:Good News Translation (GNT)

20 “Israel, you are my dearest child,

the one I love best.

Whenever I mention your name,

I think[a] of you with love.

My heart goes out to you;

I will be merciful.

Hosea 11:7 They insist on turning away from me. They will cry out because of the yoke that is on them, but no one will lift it from them.[a]

8 “How can I give you up, Israel?

How can I abandon you?

Could I ever destroy you as I did Admah,

or treat you as I did Zeboiim?

My heart will not let me do it!

My love for you is too strong.

xli-Jeremiah 9:Good News Translation (GNT)

23 The LORD says,

“The wise should not boast of their wisdom,

nor the strong of their strength,

nor the rich of their wealth.

24 If any want to boast,

they should boast that they know and understand me,

because my love is constant,

and I do what is just and right.

These are the things that please me.

I, the LORD, have spoken.”

xlii-Romans 1:16 I have complete confidence in the gospel; it is God's power to save all who believe, first the Jews and also the Gentiles. 17 For the gospel reveals how God puts people right with himself: it is through faith from beginning to end. As the scripture says, “The person who is put right with God through faith shall live.”[a]

xliii-1 John 4:18 There is no fear in love; perfect love drives out all fear. So then, love has not been made perfect in anyone who is afraid, because fear has to do with punishment.

xliv-2 Peter 3:10 But the Day of the Lord will come like a thief. On that Day the heavens will disappear with a shrill noise, the heavenly bodies will burn up and be destroyed, and the earth with everything in it will vanish.[a] 11 Since all these things will be destroyed in this way, what kind of people should you be? Your lives should be holy and dedicated to God, 12 as you wait for the Day of God and do your best to make it come soon—the Day when the heavens will burn up and be destroyed, and the heavenly bodies will be melted by the heat.

Table of Contents

i

ii

iii

iv

v

vi

vii

viii

ix

x

xi

xii

xiii

xiv

xv

xvi

xvii

xviii

xix

xx

xxi

xxii

xxiii

xxiv

xxv

xxvi

xxvii

xxviii

xxix

xxx

xxxi

xxxii

xxxiii

xxxiv

xxxv

xxxvi

xxxvii

xxxviii

xxxix

xl

xli

xlii

xliii

xliv

i-

ii-

iii-

iv-

v-

vi-